Students split over guns on campus | News

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Should students be able to carry guns on campus? It's a topic that has been talked about in years past but one that might finally be approved in the legislative session.

Being able to carry concealed weapons on Georgia college campuses is one of the topics being discussed again at this year's Georgia Legislative session. It's an issue that divides students at Georgia College in Milledgeville.

"I think this comes with a huge assumption that everybody on the college campuses is going to treat and act like an adult with this bill," said student, Harrison Vaughan.

"I don't think guns are the problem. I think people are the problem," said Deianna Hamilton, student. "So I feel like it doesn't matter what weapon you have in front of someone, if they're unstable, they can obviously be a problem. I don't think allowing guns in places is going to fix anything."

"My biggest fear, on campus and in this situation, is that I'm not going to be able to stop the situation because I don't have any protection," said student, Alex Cartegena. "All I have is my bare hands and someone has a gun, and I have twenty other students in the room with me and how am I going to protect them, you know?"

But GCSU Professor Pate McMichael says people think the only way to prevent another mass shooting is to carry a gun themselves.

"I know people who get disturbed when they see media coverage of violent attacks when scores of people are killed by a single gunman, and if only those people had guns they would've lived. That's sort of the logic. I personally don't find that to be very persuasive," McMichael said.

McMichael says allowing students to carry guns on campus would distract from learning.

"Professors do really need to be able to go into a classroom and feel free to have conversations about any topic," said McMichael. "They are going to be very intimidated by students coming in with firearms. They might not feel like they're free to speak like they would otherwise."

But McMichael says violence is inevitable whether or not people can carry guns.

"To be a free person, to live in a free country, you always have to accept the possibility of violence," said McMichael.

The bill is now before a house committee... and needs to go through several checkpoints before being voted on.